It seems once Congress gets back into session, we will enter the final stretch of a battle that has lasted all summer long and has cost us a lot of our resources, both mentally and physically. We've been fighting like dogs to make sure that reform has stayed on track and we are being heard. The president sees how crucial this all is or else he would not have called on a speech to a joint session of Congress.
Throughout August, there has been heavy concern about what the president will stand for and what he will compromise on. There are a lot of conflicting reports out about what his speech will emphasize.
This analysis will detail how the Blue Dogs don't have the bill and the president at their mercy.
More below the fold.
Remember back in late July how Mike Ross (FU-Arkansas) managed to get the other blue dogs on the House Energy and Commerce Committee to hold H.R. 3200 hostage by delaying the completion of mark-up? I remember being upset and miffed in how recess was only a one-and-a-half weeks away and they were holding up the whole frigging committee. That week (on a Wednesday I believe) they went to visit the president to voice their "concerns" about the bill's cost and try to get him on their side. When it was all over, the blue dogs left the White House with their tail between their legs. If the president had bowed to their wishes, they would have been leaving with huge smiles on their faces and then would have held a large press conference about what a success the meeting was. I distinctly recall that they were pretty quiet and solemn-looking on their way out, a sign that the president managed to deflect their "concerns" quite effectively or something like that.
The bill was still being held hostage and I had to deal with the suspense about when the committee will reconvene so they could finish the mark-up. I watched CNN's "American Morning" every weekday that the bill was held hostage. I remember how they interviewed Mike Ross who showed them around his office and showed off the dumb-looking blue dog framed poster on his wall. I rolled my eyes as Mike Ross said that if blue dogs are receiving criticism from both the right and the left that they must be doing something right.
It was all total BS, an entire game for the Blue Dogs to get attention and feel powerful. The blue dogs said how the House does not have the votes to pass the bill as it stands to contradict Pelosi. That claim would bear some truth if the blue dogs were even united in their opposition to the public option. Mike Ross pretended to be a tough guy and claimed to speak for the entire caucus as if he had them all on a string. The fact is he does not. The Blue Dog caucus contains 52 members and of that 52, approximately 20 are opposed to a public option, 20 others are for the public option, and the final 12 had not come out for either side. You can clearly see that the caucus is fairly evenly divided and such a division means that the blue dog leaders are inaccurate in claiming how Pelosi doesn't have the votes. The Blue Dogs want to feel powerful, but the statement that they can stop passage of the bill is virtually fictional.